


Ori and the Faded Kingdom

by Flintlocke



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games), Ori and the Blind Forest
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Gen, Mild Blood, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mostly Canon Compliant, Ori and Ku are incredibly wholesome, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:15:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23486662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flintlocke/pseuds/Flintlocke
Summary: After narrowly escaping certain doom in the Silent Woods, Ori and Ku find themselves lost in the ruins of a sprawling underground kingdom, known as Hallownest. With the help of the bugs living in and around this strange place, they must find a way back to the surface and their home.
Relationships: Ori & Ku
Comments: 89
Kudos: 216





	1. Your Abyss Awaits

All Ku could do was run.

The _thing_ that was chasing her and Ori had disappeared, but there was no doubt in the owlet’s mind that it would swoop down at any second. Ku didn’t know how to fight, so the best she could do was carry her brother’s body - his bleeding, unconscious, but _still breathing and definitely not dead_ body - somewhere safe, and hide until he woke up and found some way out of this nightmare for both of them.

A dissonant cry rattled from above as the monster that mostly looked like an owl crashed onto the ground, trapping Ku between its stone wings. Her body trembling, Ku looked the monster in its blazing white eyes, as the brittle, petrified earth beneath her talons started to crack and fracture. Before either could make a move, the ground shattered! The monster hovered in place, watching silently as Ku frantically tried to keep herself upright with her lame wing. She couldn’t fly, but she could sort of glide on it, and more importantly she couldn’t let her brother fall into the seemingly bottomless pit!

Only when the dust settled and both the owlet and spirit disappeared beneath the earth did Shriek soar away. As stillness returned to the Silent Woods, a large, dark feather slowly drifted down into the abyss.

* * *

Ku hadn’t thought of what might be at the bottom of the abyss, but she hadn’t expected this much greenery.

It felt like she had been falling for ages, but the drop eventually led into a more open cavern. There was a lake of bubbling acid and a stone building. A temple, maybe? Nearly every surface was covered in moss, which almost made her forget she was deep underground.

Ori stirred on her back, and weakly cried out. “It’s okay, he’s going to be okay,” Ku said, more to comfort herself than anything else. She walked into the temple as fast as she could without dropping her brother. If she was lucky, maybe someone still lived there! “Hello..?”

“Hm?” Yes! There was someone there! “Oh, another traveller. Hello there!” Ku didn’t bother introducing herself, she just ran up to the stranger. He was a… pillbug. A very big pillbug with a strange hat, sitting on a stone bench. Ku looked up at the stranger with pleading eyes. “My brother’s hurt. Can you help?”

The stranger looked confused for a moment, then seemed to figure out who she was talking about. ...She supposed at a glance, no one would assume they were siblings. “I should have something for emergencies like this,” He said with a nod. Then he gently picked up Ori’s body, and set him on the bench. Ori, apparently somewhat conscious, squirmed and hissed at the act, but was too weak to do anything. For the first time, Ku saw clearly what that monster had done to him; An uneven, jagged gash ran across the length of his back, and blue blood had poured out from it and stained his fur. It was hard to look at. She knew he’d taken the blow for her, and… Ku was young, and Ori was unusually tough for his size. If he hadn’t lunged and pushed her out of the way when he did, she… might not have made it out of the Silent Woods.

“I suppose I should introduce myself, right?” The stranger dug through a belt pouch and produced a small bottle of glowing white water. “My name’s Quirrel. I’ve been exploring these ruins for some time now.”

“I’m Ku,” the owlet replied, “and my brother’s name is Ori.” She hopped up onto the bench, trying to get a closer look at whatever salve he was using. “What’s in that bottle?”

“Springwater, actually.” Quirrel poured out about half the bottle’s contents onto the gash. “There are hot springs with Soul-infused water all over Hallownest. It can heal up injuries in no time at all, so I try to keep some with me when I can.”

Ku titted her head. “Is Hallownest where we are? Oh!” Before Quirrel could answer, the springwater began working its magic. The gash filled itself in, and in a matter of seconds there was hardly a trace it was ever there! ...Aside from all the blood. His breathing seemed to calm down a little, too. “Wow…”

Quirrel smiled as he stowed the bottle. “He should wake up in a little while. I take it you and your brother aren’t from around here? I don’t think I’ve ever seen bugs like you.”

“Bugs?” All of Ku’s feathers puffed out. “I’m not a bug! I’m an owl! I eat bugs!”

“You may be shocked to learn that lots of bugs eat smaller bugs,” Quirrel said, trying not to laugh at how the child tried to make herself look big. “I take it Ori isn’t a bug either?”

“No way! He’s a…” Ku paused, and relaxed a little. “Okay, this might sound a bit weird, but he’s a spirit.” She didn’t actually know how weird that might sound to other people. It definitely sounded weird to her when she first asked why none of her family looked like her. She thought it meant her brother was actually a ghost, before he explained how spirits work.

Quirrel looked more curious than confused. “It’s a little weird, but there’s plenty of mysteries and oddities down here. Why, further down there’s an abandoned city where it always rains.”

“But we’re underground…”

“Precisely what makes it a mystery, and one I hope to solve eventually!” Quirrel gave a sensible chuckle. “So having some sort of spirit as your brother is certainly out of the ordinary, but there aren’t many things in Hallownest that are ordinary to begin with.”

Time passed quickly, as Quirrel told an amazed Ku of all sorts of wonders and curiosities he’d come across in his journeys. Somehow, having friendly company and good conversation made being hopelessly lost in a strange and dangerous abyss a bit less frightening.

* * *

Groaning, Ori started to open his eyes. His vision and memory were both a bit hazy; He knew he found his sister, and they were attacked by Shriek, and then… he threw himself at an attack that definitely would’ve been fatal to Ku. Slowly, it was coming back to him. He tried to stand up, only to find that his body was incredibly sore.

“Ori! You’re awake!” The spirit found himself suddenly pulled into a feathery embrace. Not that he minded. “I was so scared, I thought you were… I-I mean, I know you’re strong, but you were hurt so bad, and-”

“It’s fine, I’m alright,” Ori said, leaning into the hug. “And I won’t be going anywhere, okay?” Tears ran down his face, and he made no effort to stop them. There hadn’t been a moment since they were seperated that Ori didn’t worry about his little sister, lost and alone in a foreign and incredibly dangerous forest. And finally, _finally,_ he’d found Ku. She was alive and they were together again after far too long, and that was all that mattered.

Eventually, they pulled apart, and Ori had a chance to look at his surroundings. They were in some kind of mossy temple, from the looks of it. Did Ku carry him all the way out of the Silent Woods..? “Ku, where are we?”

“Underground,” she said. “After that monster hit you, the ground sort of fell out under us.” There was a tense pause. They were even further from home than before, and Ori knew Niwen would only decay even more while they tried to find a way back to the surface, if there was one. “Then I met this pillbug named Quirrel, and he used this potion to heal you!” Ku’s face was noticeably brighter when she said that. “He’s out finding food for us now.”

“Can’t wait to meet him, then.” Ori smiled back. No use getting downcast about his situation, especially when he had someone looking up to him. ...Metaphorically, if not literally. “Hey, I have something for you.” He reached for the strings of crystal shards he wore around his wrist, and pulled off one of them. It was quite a bit longer than the others, needing to be wrapped around several times to stay on, and only had one shard attached. “I’ve been finding these shards while I was looking for you. They give you small powers when you wear them. This one helps protect you from being hurt.” He carefully tied the string around Ku’s neck. “There. How do you feel?”

Ku prodded at the shard with her good wing. “Not very different. Should I feel something?”

Ori shook his head. “No, that’s how it usually works.” He was more concerned that wearing a shard might hurt her. He probably didn't need to be concerned about it - the shards only used a tiny amount of light - but he didn't want to take a chance on it.

There were more things to worry about; Niwen’s decay, the feather that let Ku fly, and how to escape from the abyss the siblings had found themselves in. But in the moment, none of those things mattered. They were reunited, and worrying could wait just a little bit longer while they embraced that fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a little bit of context, this is set partway into the events of Hollow Knight, specifically around when the Dreamer quest begins.  
> Also, the chapter titles are derived from Kingdom Hearts quotes, just in case you were curious.


	2. In Another World

A little knight walked briskly through the foliage, only occasionally swatting aside the violent wildlife with their nail. Having taken on a slew of new powers and gear, they were retracing their steps through Hallownest, and their next stop was the acid lake at the end of Greenpath. It had seemed suspicious even on their first visit, and with a blessing that repelled acid, they could finally investigate.

Their stride stopped when they passed the temple. Voices were coming from inside, one familiar, two not. The knight silently peered inside, observed for a minute or so, and then carried on their way.

* * *

Ori, Ku, and Quirrel sat around a small campfire. Quirrel had prepared roasted meat skewers from some of the local wildlife for each of them. “So you’re looking for a way out of Hallownest, then?”

“That’s right,” said Ori. He was holding Ku’s skewer for her - wings are hardly suited for holding things - and stared at his own with mild disdain.

Quirrel took note of that. “Not a meat-eater? If you’d like, I could try to find some edible moss."

Ori grimaced even more than he already was. “No, that’s fine, it’s just-”

“He only likes sweet things,” Ku chirped in between voracious bites.

“Wha- No, it’s just that, you know,” Ori said as he tried to think of a reasonable excuse, “I’m not completely physical, since I’m a spirit, so I don’t get hungry as fast as you do!” It was a mostly true statement. “Anyways, do you know a way to the surface, Quirrel?”

Quirrel chuckled. “I didn’t think a magic forest spirit would be such a picky eater,” he said as he unrolled a map onto the ground. The siblings moved over to get a better look, as he pointed out a spot on the left side. “So we’re here, at one end of Greenpath.” He moved his finger closer to the top-center of the map. “There’s a town called Dirtmouth up on the surface here, but it’s surrounded by sheer cliffs. Unless that feather you mentioned fell down with you, I doubt you’ll find a way back to your forest from there.”

Ku glanced toward her lame wing dejectedly.

“But there are a few parts of this kingdom I haven’t explored yet,” Quirrel continued. He pointed to a blank spot further left of Greenpath. “I haven’t found a safe way here yet, but it seems like the plant life is denser in this direction. It’s a longshot, but it could lead into your forest.” He then pointed to a series of tunnels worming through a mountain. “And over here, there’s a crystal mine built into this mountain. I haven’t gone through all of it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it opened up closer to the top.”

Ori nodded along. Navigating a twisting maze of tunnels couldn’t be too different from winding through a massive forest. “That won’t be too hard. Are there any monsters we should be worried about?” He hadn’t missed the sword Quirrel carried with him.

“I don’t know if ‘monster’ is the right word,” he replied, scratching his chin. “There’s plenty of aggressive wildlife, and there’s…” He trailed off. “Well, I’ve been calling them husks. From what I can tell, the old kingdom was brought down by some sort of infection that takes over the body. Infected bugs are just as aggressive as the other creatures, so watch out for anyone with an orange glow in their eyes.”

Both siblings shuddered. Monsters spawned from darkness and rot were one thing, but animated corpses were more than a few steps past those. Ku asked, “It’s not contagious, is it?”

Quirrel scratched his shell underneath his hat. “I can’t be completely certain, but I’ve been down here for quite some time, and I’m fairly certain I haven’t been infected. The best advice I can give you is just try not to get bitten. That’s how plenty of ordinary diseases spread.” He looked at Ku, then Ori, then back to Ku. “You two have some way of defending yourselves, right?”

“Yes!” Ku said enthusiastically. “Well, I don’t, but my brother’s super strong! He saved our forest, and he can make a bow out of light!” Ku went on to rattle off several of the stories she’d heard about Nibel’s blindness, while Ori stayed quiet and tried to hide his increasingly embarrassed expression behind his huge ears. He knew it would be pointless to mention all the times he botched a jump and fell into a poison bog, or how close he came to vomiting after springboarding across chains of monsters, or just how scared he was during the whole ordeal.

“Very impressive! I was going to offer to be your escort, but it seems your brother is more than capable,” Quirrel said, giving a knowing look toward the flustered spirit. “Don’t go and take him for granted. Friendly faces are a rare commodity down here.”

“I won’t! Wait,” Ku said, her vibrant expression dimming, “so you’re not coming with us?”

Quirrel sighed. “Ah... You see, there’s another place I’ve yet to fully explore.” He pointed to a spot on the map just below the Greenpath. “It’s called the Fog Canyon. Recently, I’ve felt something… drawing me there. I can’t explain it, but I  _ need _ to find whatever it is that’s calling me.” He sat down on the bench. “I can tell you two are in a bit of a hurry, so I’d rather not make you wait for me to finish my own business.”

It was unfortunate. They hadn’t known Quirrel for long, but he seemed kind and earnest. But neither of them could deny wanting to return home as soon as possible. They could go together for a short time, but they each had their own journeys; Quirrel had to plunge deeper into the abyss, and the siblings needed to find a way home.

* * *

The little knight climbed out of the acid lake, soaking wet but otherwise no worse for wear. They took a look at their new charm, which bore quite a resemblance to the being who gave it to them. As they began heading back toward the stagway, something moving in the air caught their gaze: A single large feather, lazily drifting downward. The knight snatched it out of the air. It matched the color of that strange, feathered creature they saw talking to Quirrel. They walked into the temple, only to find it empty, save for the smoking remains of a campfire.

No matter. With how much ground the knight had to cover, they were sure to cross paths again. They stored the feather away under their cloak, and continued onward.

* * *

As it turned out, Hallownest was just about as treacherous as Niwen.

Quirrel accompanied the siblings for the first leg of the journey, and gave Ori advice on how to handle whatever creatures happened to attack them. The only ones that regularly gave Ori trouble were the Moss Chargers, which could burst from the ground with no warning whatsoever. Not that they were hard to deal with, but just the thought that one could emerge right from under his sister’s feet was enough to keep him on edge.

So of course, right after parting ways with Quirrel, they just happened to disturb a truly massive one.

It was a serious surprise at first, but Ori quickly figured out that it couldn’t easily leave the lower ground it had been lurking under. So he drew its attention, taking potshots with the Spirit Arc whenever it emerged from the ground while Ku climbed up out of the pit. Once she was safe, Ori threw out a grapple line to escape the pit himself - the ever-present moss turned out to be very easy to latch onto.

“Yay! We made it!” Ku cheered as soon as her brother landed next to her. “When did you learn how to do that grapple-thing?”

“It’s a new trick,” Ori said with a small smile, even as he gasped for breath. He couldn’t get tired, not when he had a little sister to protect. “Let’s keep going. I think we’re getting close to that spot Quirrel pointed out.”

* * *

A hunter clad in red watched two travellers from afar. The smaller one, the one that glowed, it clearly wasn’t any sort of bug. Could it be a Higher Being? Could it be  _ that _ Higher Being? That couldn’t be possible… Could it? Her eyes narrowed behind her mask as a needle flashed into her hand. Hallownest had suffered enough from that accursed light, and she was duty-bound to protect what was left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, we're all done setting up. Starting next chapter, we get into the real meat of this story!  
> I'd also like to say thanks to everyone who left a comment or kudos. I'm glad that all of you are enjoying this.


	3. That Radiance of Yours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here's some music for a specific scene.](https://youtu.be/JYRMn8Gjj30)

Ori had no idea where all the acid in the Greenpath was coming from. It couldn’t be from Niwen’s decay; He already cleared that up, and the acid pools didn’t have the same noxious stench as corrupted water did. No, they just stung his eyes and nose whenever he got close without any discernible scent. There were some creatures drifting around in the acid, so it clearly wasn’t instantly fatal, but they also had thick shells that Ori and Ku distinctly lacked.

“Do you think this is why Quirrel never explored this way?” Ku asked, looking out over the excessively large acid pool before them.

“Probably,” Ori sighed. He could get across easily, considering all the moss he could cling and grapple onto. His sister, not so much. The distance between each foothold was too far for her to safely glide across, unless she could somehow jump off from higher ground. Or maybe… “I have an idea!”

* * *

The hunter had been following that glowing creature long enough to at least somewhat understand its abilities. It could conjure weapons made of light, as well as a sort of silk to grapple onto creatures and terrain. A small part of her felt offended by that.

From a distance, she watched as it lashed out a strand of silk towards the roof of the cavern, and rapidly climbed up to the top, where it clung onto the moss. From there, it picked up its companion with another string, hoisted them up, and let them glide down to a spit of land sticking out of the acid lake.

The hunter still didn’t know what to make of that companion. Were they a follower of that ancient light, or simply an innocent creature clinging to something powerful for defense? Although she couldn’t make out what they were saying, they definitely spoke on several occasions, meaning they weren’t just another husk.

The travellers repeated their maneuver a handful of times, until they reached the far side of the acid lake. The hunter followed, maintaining her safe distance. The path ahead of them leading into the Queen’s Gardens was covered up by a tightly-woven bundle of vines and moss, suspended in the air by a single, long vine. The glowing one effortlessly severed it with a conjured nail.

This was her chance. Having just cleared a long obstacle, it must have let its guard down at least a little. The acid and the lack of reliable footholds would complicate things, but she could easily use her surroundings to her advantage. She couldn’t let an opportunity like this slip away. She took a deep breath, and hurled her needle.

* * *

“That was scary,” Ku said softly.

“Definitely,” Ori said as he cut a vine holding up a suspicious-looking chunk of moss. Sure enough, it fell into a small tunnel, revealing another way forward. “But we’re past it now, so don’t worry about it.”

Ori’s ears twitched at the sound of something whizzing through the air. He reflexively jumped just to the side, as a needle flew through the air and embedded itself in the wall behind him. Ku shrieked and nearly fell over. The silk thread attached to the needle stiffened, and a bug wearing a red cloak dropped onto the ground, clutching the other end of the thread. With a quick flick of her wrist, the needle flew into her grip. She turned around, and pointed her weapon toward Ori.

“Not another step,” she said curtly. “Have you any inkling of what that accursed light of yours has wrought upon this place?”

“Accursed?” That word caught him by surprise more than the actual attack. “What are you talking about? Who are you?”

“Hmph. As I thought, you fail to realize just how much suffering you have caused. No matter.” The bug tilted her head toward Ku. “If you value your life, you will leave now, outsider.”

“B-but I…” Ku looked past the bug, toward her brother.

Ori clenched his fist. “Leave her out of this!” His eyes met his sister’s. “...Find somewhere safe to hide. I’ll come find you, I promise.”

Ku nodded sadly, and scurried down the tunnel.

Once Ku was out of sight, the bug dropped into a combat stance. “My name is Hornet. As the last protector Hallownest has, I shall put an end to you, here and now!”

Hornet threw her needle. Ori flipped over it and drew his Spirit Edge. As he came down, he tried to cut through the glowing silk tied to the needle. If he could drop the needle into the acid, he could end this fight right away! Unfortunately, his blade only harmlessly slid across, some form of magic preventing the silk from being severed.

The moment Ori landed, Hornet retracted the needle. Once again Ori jumped over it as it flew past, this time drawing the Spirit Arc. He pulled back an arrow of light, and one of the shards on his wrist flashed. The one arrow split into three as he let the shot loose. He fired off more and more shots until he touched the ground. Hornet deftly wove through the volley, and emerged from the attack with nothing but a few tears on her cloak and scratches on her shell.

Once the needle was back in her grip, Hornet let out a battle cry and lunged toward Ori. Quickly, he drew the Spirit Edge to block the strike. The sheer force of the attack pushed him back, and one of his hooves slipped off the edge of the ground. Before he could fully regain balance, she shouted  _ “AGAARE!” _ and whirled silk all around her, covering Ori in countless cuts and completely driving him off the edge. A miasma of white silk and blue blood clouded the air. Ori cried out and desperately hurled a grapple, managing to cling onto the side of the foothold. The steam rising from the acid was burning his eyes, burning his face, burning his lungs, and just holding onto the moss was a struggle. He squeezed his eyes shut and started climbing, ignoring how his muscles screamed out in agony.

He couldn’t die here.

Hacking and coughing, he pulled himself back onto solid ground. Hornet was there waiting for him, of course. “I should’ve known extinguishing you wouldn’t be so simple,” she said as she jumped back and readied her needle for another attack.

The needle came flying towards Ori. In a split second, he leapt on top of it and kicked it into the ground. While Hornet was off-balance from losing control of her weapon, Ori grabbed the glowing silk tied to it and conjured a Blaze. White fire radiated from his body, lightly scorching some of the moss and taking hold on the silk. The fire quickly spread across the length of silk, and Hornet snipped it short with a claw before it could reach her. “Clever,” she cursed under her breath.

“I don’t want to fight you,” Ori said, panting. “I don’t even know why you want to fight me!”

Hornet scoffed. “You claim ignorance? Just look around you. Your light is what animates lifeless husks and drives common beasts berserk, and it has plagued this world for countless ages.”

“What?” Ori’s eyes went wide with shock. Light didn’t do that, right? It couldn’t! It could hurt people if it was used carelessly, or if it was formed into spells, but light’s purpose for existing was to create life.

Hornet looked through him, watching every detail of his reaction. “So you truly had no idea… Perhaps I was hasty in my judgement.” Her stance relaxed. “I shall allow you to proceed into the gardens beyond. Seek out the Root who lives there in exile. She will have the answers you seek.” She walked up to her needle, embedded in the ground. She untied the burning silk, and tossed it into the acid below. “I’ve my own business to attend to elsewhere,” she said as she produced fresh silk, and began threading it through the needle. “Perhaps our paths will cross again. Until then, farewell.” She plucked the needle from the ground, and hurled it into the air. After a moment, she grabbed onto the silk and let the inertia send her soaring away.

Ku poked her head out of the tunnel just ahead. “Is she gone?”

“Yeah… Wait a minute!” He ran up to his sister. “You were just in there the whole time!?”

Ku’s feathers ruffled up indignantly. “I don’t want to just leave you! What if there was, like, a bunch of those creepy husks at the other end!?”

“Okay, okay, I get it!” Ori sighed dramatically. “Can you keep going? We can rest here if you need to.”

“Well, I’m doing fine, but… you’re hurt.” She waved her wings towards the many small cuts on Ori.

“What, these? These are nothing, I can heal myself back from them no problem.” Ori closed his eyes and focused, a green light surrounding him. In a matter of seconds, the wounds closed up on their own accord. It didn’t do much for his stamina, though. “See? All better.”

“Whoa… That’s so cool!” The siblings began heading down the tunnel, while Ku peppered her brother with questions about how all of his powers worked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the sake of narrative flow, I couldn't include Hornet saying "Shaw!" every few seconds. I hope that didn't break your suspension of disbelief.  
> I haven't written many action scenes, so I hope I did this one well enough.


	4. The Deserted Garden

Ku hated being helpless.

It had taken a few near-death experiences in a far-off forest for her to realize it, but by now she couldn’t even try to deny it. She’d spent so much time fantasizing about the day her wing would  _ finally _ grow in properly, and she could fly off on all sorts of adventures with her brother! But now that she was on a proper adventure, all she could do was hide away while Ori did all of the work. It was frustrating, being nothing but dead weight someone else had to carry around. She  _ wanted _ to help, but there just wasn’t anything she could do.

As she hid under a shrub, watching Ori fight off a horde of mantises, Ku’s thoughts turned to the rest of her family. How long had it been since she saw Naru and Gumo? She hadn’t even said goodbye before flying off. Granted, she didn’t expect to be left stranded by a random storm, but she still felt guilty about it. How long had she been missing? She couldn’t tell what time it was in those creepy stone woods, and there wasn’t any sky to track underground. Naru was probably worried sick, probably had been since Ku had flown off. Gumo was probably working on some contraption to get the siblings back home. At least, that’s what Ku thought he would do. He usually solved problems by making contraptions.

A mantis lunged toward Ori, and pinned him to the ground. Ku almost screamed, but pushed it down into a gasp. Her brother let out a burst of white flame, lighting the mantis on fire and, more importantly, getting it to release its grip. Ku let out a relieved sigh.

She thought of Kuro, the egg-mother she never knew. Her family always seemed hesitant to talk about her, for some reason. Ku knew she was bigger than most of the trees in the Swallow’s Nest, that she was strong enough to crush monsters in one talon, and that she gave her life to protect Nibel, as well as her child. Even if Ku never knew her, and had a completely different family, she took some pride in knowing she was the daughter of one of the strongest creatures in Nibel. She only wished she had just a little bit of that strength right at that moment.

Whenever they found a safe place to rest, she would have to try asking again. She was older, and she’d seen plenty of danger. Whatever it was Ori and Naru thought she needed to be protected from, Ku knew she could handle it.

Ori leapt onto one of the mantises, and kicked it into another. Upside-down in midair, he drew his Spirit Arc and pelted both of them with countless arrows. By the time he touched the ground, the orange glow in their eyes had faded away. He waved over at the shrub Ku was hiding under. “That was the last one!”

“Thank goodness,” Ku sighed as she crawled out of her hiding place and shook off all the leaves stuck to her. “Do you think we can rest soon? I’m starting to get tired…”

Ori nodded. “Of course! And you can lean on me if it’s getting hard to walk.”

Ku huffed. “I’m not that tired!” She wasn’t a little chick anymore! Heck, she was bigger than Ori! “...But thanks.” She tried not to look at the corpses coated in orange as they left.

The gardens didn’t have the same acid problem as Greenpath, but that was the only improvement. Everything was overgrown, and because of that most of the firefly-filled lanterns that kept the underground abyss lit up were either broken and empty or covered up. Even if she could see fine in moonlight, needing to see by her brother’s glow made things so much more stressful. The mantises were pretty bad as well. They were more like Hornet than the husks and beasts in Greenpath - Fast, and they liked pulling ambushes. Also, there were thorns everywhere, which was just nasty on principle.

It wasn’t long before the siblings found a particularly strange obstacle: A set of spiked contraptions, with some sort of dark energy rushing between them. The energy was massive enough to seal off the entire tunnel, and it gave off an oppressive force that Ku could feel from the safe distance she was looking at it from. She looked over at her brother. He was mostly made of light, so he had to be feeling so much worse.

Ori was shaking, but he didn’t take any steps back. Instead, he summoned the Spirit Arc and fired a bolt of light into each of the contraptions. The darkness halted for… five seconds, maybe, then came gushing back. He took a deep breath, and did the same thing. Then he took off sprinting, and dove through the barrier just before it closed again.

Ku shrieked. “Ori!?” She ran up as close to the darkness as she could without touching it.

“I’m okay,” he shouted from the other side. “I’m about to open it back up, so get ready to sprint!”

“Are you crazy!? I’m not as fast as you!”

“Don’t worry! I have a plan!” Suddenly, the barrier opened. Ori kept firing into the bizarre contraptions, keeping the darkness at bay.

That… made things easier. Ku ran through as fast as her legs could carry her. Once she crossed the threshold, Ori dropped the Spirit Arc, and the darkness came surging back.

“See?” Ori smiled proudly. “Nothing to it.”

“You dummy!” Ku aggressively pulled Ori into a hug. “You could’ve- You could’ve gotten hurt!”

Ori squirmed a little. “You know I can heal myself, right?”

“That’s not the point!” Was she crying? Well, it didn’t matter if she was. “Don’t do a crazy stunt like that without telling me!”

“A-alright, I’ll tell you next time.” He squirmed some more.

Ku took a few deep breaths. She calmed down, at least a little. “Is that a promise?”

Ori nodded, and returned the hug. “Yeah, it’s a promise.”

Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted by a rumbling above. The siblings heard the all-too familiar sounds of claws clashing against blades, and the war cries of the infected mantises.

“Okay, here’s my plan,” Ori said quickly. “I’ll go and handle whatever’s going on up there. If things look bad, I’ll run back here, and we’ll get back to the other side of the barrier. Okay?”

“O-okay,” Ku replied. “I’ll just… wait here.” Again, she was stuck hiding away and leaving her brother to do everything himself. “Good luck.”

Ori smiled, vaulted up a wall, and rushed towards the fight.

* * *

A bug clad in white armor pulled her nail from the corpse of a mantis, spraying infected blood onto the ground. At least a dozen more were piled up along with it. She turned to face the rest of the dwindling horde surrounding her. Then the entire cavern shook, and another mantis - one that absolutely towered over the others - crashed down from the ceiling. It landed on one of the smaller warriors, crushing it instantly. She growled, gripping her nail so tight that her shell might crack were she not wearing gauntlets.

“You must be the leader,” she said, maintaining an air of stoic confidence despite her waning stamina. “Come on, then.” Even if it meant giving her life, she would protect her queen.

The colossal mantis roared, and shot towards her with incredible speed for something so massive. She braced for impact, but the sheer brute strength of the mantis sent her flying. She crashed into the temple behind her, and landed slumped against the wall. She drove her nail into the ground, using it as a crutch to climb back onto her feet.

The mantis reared back, going in for another attack. She didn’t have time to dodge or guard. She closed her eyes, ready for the inevitable…

...But the impact didn’t come. She looked up, and saw a tiny, glowing creature unlike any bug she’d seen before on top of the mantis, with an ethereal nail driven into its shell. The mantis lurched its body, hurling off the strange not-bug. He quickly shifted his body so that he rolled when he hit the ground, and sprung back up to his feet right beside her. “Are you okay?”

“Save it for when this thing’s dead,” Dryya said curtly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh, the tags say this is only _mostly_ canon-compliant. I hope this isn't stretching that too far, because this won't be the last time I change things around.
> 
> Also hey! Got this chapter done a bit faster than usual!


	5. Light from the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a bit longer than the others. Just a heads-up.

In hindsight, leaping onto a giant, berserk mantis might’ve been a reckless maneuver. But Ori did manage to distract it long enough for that armored bug to get back on her feet, so he considered it an overall good idea. “Are you okay?” Ori asked as he flipped back onto his hooves.

The bug glanced toward him. “Save it for when this thing’s dead.” Ori figured she was probably fine.

The mantis didn’t seem to appreciate their banter, and hurled two whirling blades dripping with infection towards both of them. The bug dove out of the way of one, but Ori instead leapt towards the other. He grabbed onto the blade with one hand, ready to send it back the way it came, only to be met with a searing pain the shot straight up his arm. He yelped, lost whatever focus he might’ve had, and was sent tumbling onto the ground.

Everything went blank for a few moments. Ori could vaguely hear the sounds of a blade clashing against claws, and the bug shouting something as he stood back up. His arm was numb, but he could still move it. He shook off any lingering senselessness, and saw that the mantis had the other bug backed into a corner. Without thinking, he hurled a grapple toward its arm before it could tear into her. He dug in his hooves and held it back for… maybe a second before being violently yanked onto the mantis. He did manage to hold it back long enough for his new friend to escape the immediate danger.

Not as planned, but Ori could work with this.

The Spirit Edge flashed into his grip moments before he slammed into the mantis’ carapace. He flipped the blade around, and stabbed right below the mantis’ neck. It reared back, roaring in rage while Ori slid down its back, dragging the Spirit Edge down the entire length of his body. It was times like these that he appreciated how weapons of light usually cauterized any open wounds they created. He hated seeing blood everywhere.

Seeing an opening, the bug charged in. For a moment, her sword glowed with a pale light as she rapidly slashed at the mantis’ thorax with an unnatural speed. Then she leapt into the air, and cleaved into its head right between the horns. Infection-tainted blood sprayed out onto her white armor, and the beast fell.

There was a moment of silence. Both of them half-expected the behemoth to stand back up, but it remained on the mossy ground, lifeless.

Ori broke the silence. “Did we get it?”

“It looks that way,” the bug said with a nod.

He exhaled, shaking the numbness out of his arm. Now that things had calmed down, he took a moment to check his surroundings, as well as whatever damage he’d sustained. At the end of the open cavern was an egg-shaped building, with glowing white roots growing out of it in several directions. He figured that was where the ‘Root’ Hornet mentioned would be. As for himself, there was an uneven, jagged tear that started in his palm and traveled halfway to his elbow. His fur around the wound was stained orange. It wasn’t anything he couldn’t heal away, but it would take a bit more effort than usual. As usual, a green glow surrounded his body, and coalesced around the gash, gradually repairing the damage.

“It must be easy to pull risky moves like that when you can just restore yourself,” the bug commented as she approached Ori. “Do you mind telling me your name?”

He laughed sheepishly. “I’m Ori.”

“Odd name. I am Dryya, one of the Great Knights of Hallownest. ...Although I suppose that title doesn’t mean much anymore.” Dryya sighed. “In any case, thank you for your help, Ori. I doubt I would’ve survived that fight without you.” She bowed in a rather rehearsed fashion. “Have you come to see the White Lady? I can’t imagine any other reasons for coming this far off the beaten path.”

Ori scratched the back of his head. “I think so. Is she a root?”

“That… could describe her, yes,” Dryya replied with a nod. “You’ll find her in the temple behind me. Normally I’m supposed to ward off intruders, but I think you’ve earned at least a conversation.”

The gash finished healing. Ori opened and closed a fist, just to make sure everything had healed right. “Are people not supposed to see her?”

Dryya looked back toward the temple. “In trying to purge the infection from this world, Her Majesty took part in an unspeakable atrocity. Obviously, it didn’t even work. As atonement, she lives here in isolation. As her most trusted guardian, I’ve been her only company for longer than I care to keep track of.”

“Okay…” That was… a pretty terrible way to live. Ori would go crazy if he couldn’t be with his family or run and climb around the forest whenever. What could this lady have done to think she deserved this sort of life..? “I’ll go get my sister. I told her to wait a bit back while I handled the monsters.” He started to sprint back the way he came, then skidded to a halt and ran back to Dryya. “Also! We’re looking for a way back to the surface and thought there might be a way out around here, because of all the plants. Do you know if there’s one?”

Dryya shook her head. “I can assure you, there’s no way out of Hallownest in the gardens.”

“Oh.” Ori’s ears drooped. “Well, thanks for letting me know. Be back in a second!” And he ran off again.

* * *

After Ori sprinted away, Dryya knelt down in front of the dead mantis. On closer inspection, it was obvious that it was the sole male Mantis Lord, albeit bloated to monstrous proportions by the infection. It was an unnerving revelation. Had the infection spread to all of the Lords, or just this one? If it was only the one Lord and his close followers who succumbed, why only them? Although if it was just a small sect of the Mantis Tribe, it could explain what they were doing so far from their village.

Dryya sighed. “I’m so sorry, Ze’mer,” she quietly said.

* * *

Ori recovered Ku, introduced her to Dryya, and answered her many questions about the enormous mantis laying slain in the courtyard before the siblings headed into the temple.

The inside was rather dark, illuminated only by the light of the roots and Ori himself. Ori could feel a power emanating from deeper within; Not unlike his own, but far stronger and older. He turned to his sister. “If you start getting uncomfortable in here, let me know, okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” Ku chirped. “I’m not  _ that _ sensitive to light, you know.”

They went down a winding, descending tunnel. Eventually it leveled out, revealing a straight pathway into an open room. Inside was a colossal being, the source of all the roots worming throughout the structure, who glowed with pale light. Her body was bound tightly. A pair of beady, fogged-over eyes opened.

“Oh? A little light has come to me. I sense the old light it carries, and the little shadow it walks beside.” Her voice was light, almost ethereal.

Ku tilted her head. “Old light?”

“That would be me,” said a soft, echoey voice. A small orb of light flew out of Ori’s chest. Ku hooted in mild shock. “I am the Voice of Niwen. I have been travelling with Ori for some time. Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier.”

Ori sighed, and looked up at the White Lady. “Anyways… My name’s Ori. My sister and I came here from the surface, and we’re trying to find a way home. Someone told us you might be able to help.”

The White Lady’s massive form leaned in, glazed eyes staring right through Ori. “The surface, you say. So one of the Willow’s children yet lives.”

“Oh, I’m not from Niwen,” Ori quickly corrected himself. “We came from across the water. It’s a long story.”

“I see. Disappointing, though not unexpected. When I first came to this place, the decay had already begun taking hold.” She paused. Maybe she meant to sigh, but Ori hadn’t heard any sign of her breathing. “He who bears the golden light. If you seek egress, I regret that I cannot grant it. Long ago, when a misguided light bore the plague, a veil was cast over these caverns. The only way to stop the infection from spreading into Niwen itself was to forbid any light from leaving. I fear that until the source of that blight is thoroughly uprooted, you cannot escape this place with your mind intact.” She hummed thoughtfully. “We are prisoners, you and I.”

Ori felt the blood drain from his face. His tail fell limp. His body went cold. He suddenly found it hard to breathe. They were trapped.  _ Ku  _ was trapped. And somehow, the light was to blame. How could this have happened? What could someone have done that turned the very thing that lets life flourish into a horrifying poison that puppeteers the bodies of its victims?

Ku stepped forward, and said softly, “So we can’t go home..?”

The branchlike tendrils on the Lady’s head rustled, as if by a wind that couldn’t exist this deep underground. “The spirit, and the ancient light he carries, would be reduced to mere shells of themselves. You, little shadow, are a different story. Time may have clouded my eyes, but I sense the sublime darkness you cast. It may be deep enough to protect your mind, but I cannot be certain.”

The siblings shared a knowing glance. Even if Ku could make it through this veil, she would still be left alone and defenseless. There was no way Ori would let that happen again. Ori regained enough composure to ask, “Do you know where the source of the infection is?”

“I do, but it is quite an unusual situation,” the Lady said, as she straightened herself back up to her impressive height. “Once, we thought her slain, but in fact she fled into a dream. My beloved and I crafted a vessel to trap that dream in darkness, and the vessel itself was sealed away behind three dreams of the most devoted bugs in Hallownest. If you wish to slay the poisonous light, you must first find the means to dive into the dreams of others.”

It was quite a bit to take in. Ori just focused on what he understood: Needing a new skill to forge a path forward. “Can you tell us where to find it?”

Once again, there was that odd silence where an inhale should’ve been. “Such magic is beyond my ability. Look to the east, beneath the crystallized mountain. There you will find what remains of an old tribe who worshipped dreams.”

Ku chirped, “The Crystal Peak? We were going there anyways.”

“Then there is no need to tarry. But before you go…” Her eyes shifted toward the Voice, who had been floating silently this entire time. “I would like a moment to speak with the wisp you carry. Alone.”

Ori shrugged. “Okay. We’ll be outside, then.”

“Thank you for telling us all that,” Ku said as the siblings exited.

* * *

“That little spirit is certainly charming,” the Lady said as Ori’s light faded from her perception. It was a pleasant blue tone, although rather soft compared to the spirits of Niwen. “I suppose you’re grooming him to be the Willow’s successor?”

“I cannot see any other options,” Seir said with her typical imperative tone. “There are no other spirits in Niwen, and some regions have been completely consumed by the decay.”

The Lady hummed wistfully. “A shame, truly. Such a spritely little thing to be sacrificed. And you are certain about this, hmm? You believe this one won’t run from the fate you’ve sentenced him to?”

It took Seir a moment to respond. “If you are implying that I chose another, I’m afraid I have no recollection of them. When the Willow died, I was broken into pieces. My memory lies elsewhere.”

“Ah. How unfortunate.” Although it did explain why Seir’s golden light, normally blinding and searing this close up, was muted into barely a glow. “I had hoped we could reminisce about the days before. Well, I shall not keep you any longer. I am glad to have spoken with you once more.”

Seir’s light glowed just a little brighter. Was she happy? The Lady couldn’t remember a time when she showed any emotion beyond satisfaction or disappointment at the state of the forest. “Even if I have no recollection, I am glad to know that one of my offspring still lives. Farewell.”

The light faded from her senses, leaving the Lady alone once more. A few moments later, something reverberated through her roots. An emptiness where there once was a dream. “How curious,” she hummed to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a few lore-related things I wrote down in my notes that didn't make it into that whole exposition dump. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.


	6. An Infected World

Ori sat on the mossy ground, his back against the White Lady’s temple. Ku sat next to him, her good wing wrapped around him like he might disappear if she didn’t hold on. Dryya had been kind enough to let Ori and Ku rest in the courtyard outside the temple. There was an old building they could’ve holed up in, but Ori preferred the courtyard. There wasn’t a sky, and moss was hardly a substitute for grass, but it was the closest there was to a forest in the abyss that was Hallownest, and the glowing roots growing out of the temple reminded him of the Spirit Tree.

Familiarity was comfortable, especially when it seemed like the world itself was against him.

First there was the storm that tore the siblings apart. Then their reunion just happened to be in a stone owl’s hunting grounds. And  _ then _ the earth itself swallowed them up. And now apparently they couldn’t even leave without losing their minds. Ori didn’t really know what that meant, but he didn’t want to find out.

And there was also the creepy infection. Ori still didn’t understand how such a thing could be born of light, but that’s what everyone who seemed to know what was going on said. Did that mean he, a creature made of light, was technically already infected? Was that what happened to ordinary creatures who spend too much time close to the light? Had he unwittingly infected his own family simply by living with them?

“Hey, Ori?”

“Huh?” His sister’s voice snapped him back into reality. “What is it?”

“What was Kuro like?”

Terrifying, deadly, and colossal were the first words that came to mind. Quite a few images flashed through Ori’s head at the mere mention of her name. Being hurled off the top of the Ginso Tree. Scrambling to hide behind cover outside the Forlorn Ruins. Running for his life as Mount Horu erupted. As much as he loved his sister, he was never anything but scared of her egg-mother.

“She was strong and huge. Kinda scary, if you ask me. But she cared about you more than anything else.” That was the answer he’d rehearsed since Ku started asking about Kuro.

Ku looked away, not even trying to hide her disappointment. “I know that. That’s all you and Mom  _ ever  _ say about her.” She pulled her wing off of Ori. “...If there’s something you don’t want to tell me, please just say so.”

Ori felt his stomach twist into a knot. Of course she would figure it out. “I’ll… tell you, if you want me to. Just not now. It’s a… painful memory.” He struggled to say the words. “I don’t think I can handle it on my own. Once we get home, Mom and Gumo and I will tell you anything you want to know about her.”

“But what if we can’t go home?” Ku wrapped her wings around herself. “What if we’re stuck down here forever? I don’t want to be trapped…”

Ori put a hand on her shoulder. “Ku…”

She was shaking. “I miss Mom and Uncle Gumo… I miss my bed… I miss the paintings on the walls… I miss the dreamcatchers Mom makes… I just want to go home!”

“Ku, listen to me.” Ori hugged her tightly. “We’ll be home again soon. I promise.” It didn’t matter how impossible the task at hand seemed. He had to keep on a brave face for her sake. He needed to be something she could believe in.

Ku didn’t say anything in response. She just cried into his shoulder.

* * *

Dryya held out a small idol made of pale white stone. It glowed for a moment, and the dark barrier retracted. “There you go. Stay safe on your way, alright?”

Ku thanked her and walked past the gate. Ori stopped for a moment. “You said you’re a knight of Hallownest, right?”

“That’s right,” Dryya replied with a nod.

Ori tilted his head. “But I heard that Hallownest has been in ruins for… a really long time.”

“That’s also right. You’re on a roll, kid.” Dryya chuckled. “I look a lot younger than I actually am. Now are you leaving or not?”

Ori nodded and waved, then jogged up to his sister. Dryya turned and walked back to her post outside the temple, the void gate surging back into place as she did.

The trek back through the gardens was relatively uneventful. There were some of the moss-covered creatures to deal with, but the mantises were completely absent. Ori figured it had something to do with taking down the giant one. Compared to the veritable swarm he had to cut through on the way in, it was a welcome change of pace. Less welcome were the acid pits that were so common in the deeper part of Greenpath, but they were moving away from those anyways.

Without any real idea of how to get to the Crystal Peak, the siblings were just retracing their steps back to where they met Quirrel. But on the way, in a more open tunnel where partially-sunken ruins created a bridge over the acid, they saw a figure wearing a familiar red cloak standing on a ledge overlooking the area. She seemed to notice them as well and leapt down from her perch, landing just in front of them with barely an impact. “So we meet again, brightling.”

Ori and Ku looked at each other, utterly dumbfounded. Ori’s kind went by a few different titles. ‘Brightling’ was certainly not one of them. “My name’s Ori.”

There was an awkward silence. “...Of course.” Hornet brushed some dust off her cloak. “Forgive me for not asking during our last encounter. And your companion is..?”

“I’m Ku,” she chirped. She was staying back just a bit behind Ori, still a bit scared of Hornet.

Hornet nodded. “Ori, Ku, I take it you’ve had an audience with the Root.”

“Yep,” Ori replied.

“Then you understand why I thought it prudent to put an end to you.” Both siblings tensed up. Hornet took note of their reaction, but her mask betrayed no emotion. “...I admit that I was mistaken. If you desire to leave Hallownest, I will provide whatever assistance I can. Consider it an apology.”

“Well, the thing is…” Ori and Ku quickly explained what the White Lady told them. “...But if you can help us find this old tribe, that would be great!”

Hornet crossed her arms. “It seems our goals are in alignment. Very well. I will take you as far as the Crystal Peak. There is a town along the way, and we can stop there if you’d like.”

“Dirtmouth, right? Quirrel told us about it,” Ku said. “I’d like to stop there.” Even if it hadn’t been too long since they stopped to rest, it would be nice to be somewhere where they didn’t have to worry about something dangerous clawing its way out of nowhere.

And so it was decided. While Greenpath wasn’t especially dangerous, having someone who actually knew their way around made the journey that much less intimidating. On the way, Ori and Ku shared stories about their home. Hornet wasn’t very keen on sharing her own past, though. “I don’t have many pleasant memories,” she explained when pressed.

As the three reached a point where the moss became less ubiquitous, something else became apparent: An orange haze hanging in the air. Hornet’s needle flashed into her hand. “Something’s changed here. Be on your guard.” Ori nodded and conjured the Spirit Arc. Ku cast a disappointed look and hung back behind her brother.

The next cavern was a tall chasm, with suspended platforms spiraling around to form a path to the top. The trio emerged from a small opening about halfway up. Pulsing orange veins clung to the walls, and bloated bugs covered in throbbing cysts of infection floated around the entire area. They haphazardly flew around while sizzling orange liquid leaked from their eyes and maws. They didn’t seem to have any idea of where they were going, and regularly slammed into the platforms and each other. A sickly-sweet scent permeated the chasm.

One of the bugs was coming their way. At nearly the same moment, Ori let loose a volley from his bow and Hornet hurled her needle. The bug started dropping to the bottom of the chasm almost instantly, but within a few seconds of being cut down, its carcass writhed and all of the cysts on its body burst into a spray of boiling infection. The body was completely gone when the orange mist dissipated.

“I should’ve expected this,” Hornet muttered as she retracted her needle, which was dangling limply off the edge of the foothold.

Ku looked out at the chasm with a look of general horror. “What happened here..?”

“This is where the infection was sealed away,” Hornet said. “Just recently, one of the seals was broken. I’d anticipated an increase in its strength, but… nothing like this.”

Ori’s ears perked up. “Someone else is breaking the seals?”

“This is no place for a discussion,” Hornet said with barely-hidden irritation. “Your questions will have to wait until we reach Dirtmouth.” She threw her needle upward, embedding it in the opposite wall much further up. “Get moving.” She tugged on the thread, and shot up to the top of the chasm.

Ori jumped down onto the spiraling platform, and Ku followed close behind. Walking up was a slow process, since they had to stop whenever boiling infection landed in front of them. Ori drove off the bugs from ramming into them with the Spirit Arc, making a point to not hit any of the cysts because  _ exploding bugs _ were the last thing he needed.

The next cavern was a tunnel with only a few husks wandering around. Much less intense. Hornet took them to a chain dangling from a tall shaft, and explained that they were right beneath a well outside Dirtmouth. Ori was worried that Ku wouldn’t be able to climb up, but her talons had a strong grip and the chain links were easy enough to cling to.

For the first time in what felt like ages, Ori and Ku were on the surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters are ones I've really been looking forward to writing. Mostly because they just have more characters to work with, including my favorite character from Hollow Knight.
> 
> Also, I'm going to stop using cropped Kingdom Hearts dialogue for chapter titles starting here. It was fun at first, but it's way too hard to find lines that fit the chapters specifically. I might go back and change some of the previous chapter titles as well.


	7. A Moment's Respite

The town was made up of several small buildings all clustered together right in between sheer cliff faces, with a humble iron bench at the center. The only light came from lamps lit by fireflies - and Ori himself, of course. Despite how many houses there were, the streets were empty save for a few bugs hanging around the bench. The sky was heavily overcast and the air was bitterly cold, but Ori was happy just to see the sky and feel the wind through his fur again.

While they walked, Hornet began telling the siblings about this mysterious bug undoing the seals. “I’ve been calling them Ghost. They are a being who wields shadows as deftly as you wield light.” Ku plucked a curious flier off a building as they passed by. Hornet continued, “I believe they share your goal of destroying the heart of the infection.”

“Okay…” Ori nodded along. “Can you tell me what they look like? I want to know who to be looking out for.”

“Ghost is a small bug,” Hornet said. “A little shorter than you, if you include their horns. They wear a grey cloak, carry a nail on their back, and cannot speak.”

Before Ori could get another word in, Ku shoved the flier she held in her beak into his hands. “Ori! Look at this!” A bit confused, he looked it over, as did Hornet over his shoulder. It was black parchment with a flame pattern on the borders. A drawing of some sort of mask was on the bottom, and above it was bold red lettering that said:

**Come One, Come All!**

**Tonight, The Grimm Troupe Presents**

**Our Final Performance in Dirtmouth**

**A Show Unlike Any Seen Before!**

**Witness Wonders Beyond Your Wildest Imagination**

**And Terrors Greater Than Your Darkest Nightmares**

**Admission: 50 Geo per Person**

Hornet looked at Ku incredulously. “Every passing moment the infection festers and grows more potent beneath our very feet, and you want to go to the circus.”

“Well, um… Yes?” She glanced aside nervously. “I just thought it might be fun…”

“I think it’s interesting,” Ori said with a nod. “I don’t know what a ‘geo’ is, though.”

Hornet muttered a few words under her breath. ‘Outsiders’ was the only one Ori picked up. “We are here to rest and resupply. If you see merit in this… performance, whatever it is, I’ll not stop you.” She produced a small pouch from the inside of her cloak, and dropped it into Ori’s paws. “That should be enough geo for the two of you. You may keep anything that’s left over.”

“Oh. Thanks..?” The pouch had some heft to it, and clattered when he shook it. It felt full of rocks. He folded up the flier and dropped it into the pouch. “Aren’t you coming, too?”

“I have no interest in such frivolities,” she said curtly. “And regardless, it is only midday. I will seek out a place for us to spend the night. You may join me or explore on your own terms.” Without another word, she turned and walked off.

Lacking any real direction, the siblings just walked into the center of town. The bench was occupied by a beetle furiously writing in a small journal, and an older bug stood near one of the tall, coiled lamps, quietly watching over the town. Ku hopped onto the bench and peered over the remarkably oblivious beetle’s shoulder at whatever it was she was writing, and Ori walked up to the elder. “Hi,” he said with a small wave.

“Hello there,” the old bug said with a soft smile. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you before. Most folks call me Elderbug. May I ask your name?”

“I’m Ori, and that’s my sister Ku over there,” he replied, pointing towards her.

Elderbug looked confused for a moment. “Your sister? Oh, I suppose it’s not my place to pry. It may not be much to look at, but welcome to our humble town, Ori.” He thought for a moment. “I suppose you’re searching for something in the ruins beneath our well? That seems to be the only thing drawing new faces here.”

Ori nodded. “We’re from… pretty far away. We’re trying to find a way home, but to do that we need to find something down there.”

The old bug sighed. “And so young, too… I suppose there’s no helping it.”

If Ori was even a little less polite, he would’ve groaned and rolled his eyes. Sure, he was pretty young, but that didn’t mean he was some helpless kid. He could say that with absolute certainty because he knew exactly what being helpless felt like. “I can protect my sister just fine. Plus, we made a friend on the way. We’ll be alright,” he said with a confident smile.

The next few minutes were spent with Elderbug telling Ori about some of the new developments in town, such as the mapmaker couple and the shopkeeper who survived a trip into Hallownest and back. When asked about the Grimm Troupe and what their shows are like, he said, “I’ve been trying to ignore them. They give off some sort of eerie aura that’s simply too much for an old bug like myself.”

At some point the beetle noticed Ku looming over her shoulder, then promptly screamed, slammed her journal shut, and ran into her house blushing heavily. Ku cooed dejectedly, and looked over at Ori. He shook his head, walked over, and sat on the bench next to her. For something made of cold iron, it was surprisingly comfortable. “So… What was she writing about?”

“It was this really nice story about a girl who was saved by a masked wanderer,” Ku said. Somewhat guiltily, she added, “I would’ve said something, but she looked so busy and I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Ori sighed. “I get where you’re coming from, but you really shouldn’t sneak up behind people like that.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much,” said Elderbug, who had followed Ori to the bench but only now caught up. “That girl’s been rather jumpy ever since she found her way out of the well. I’ve seen someone spook her just by sitting next to her. Not I can blame her, of course.”

“So everything’s okay?” Ku brightened up a little.

“You still have to apologize next time you see her,” Ori said.

Ku groaned dramatically. “You sound like Mom!”

After a bit more conversation, Ori and Ku went to visit the mapmakers’ shop. It turned out only the wife - Iselda was her name - was present, as the husband was busy exploring Hallownest and drawing maps as he went. Ori bought a map of the Crystal Peak, and in the process learned that ‘geo’ was actually a bunch of fossilized shells. Why these were valuable enough to be traded for goods was completely beyond him. They definitely weren’t edible, and they were too brittle to build or craft anything out of them. Maybe it was just because they were shiny? The map itself was clearly incomplete, but it was as good a starting point as any. He thought about buying a compass with the map, but then there might not be enough geo left to see the Grimm Troupe, and Ori already had a well-honed sense of direction on his own.

“You mean that circus?” Iselda asked when Ori mentioned the Troupe.

Ku nodded. “Mhm! We’re going to see them tonight! Are you coming?”

“To be perfectly honest, I’ve been trying to avoid them,” Iselda admitted. “Although it looks like they’ll be leaving soon. Maybe I’ll see what the fuss is about if Corny comes home tonight… We haven’t had a proper night out in ages!”

Ori thanked Iselda for the map, and the siblings left the shop.

* * *

In hindsight, Hornet really should’ve expected that most of the town was vacant. Not that she minded having some time alone with her thoughts. Companionship was a rather foreign feeling to her, and a pair of children peppering her with questions was hardly where she wanted to start.

Hornet cringed under her mask. Not long ago she was completely fine with killing a child and leaving his younger sibling to the mercy of the wilderness. She had accepted that survival in Hallownest required her to grow accustomed to bloodshed, but that… That should have crossed a line. It disturbed her, how easily she had slipped into the role of a merciless hunter.

Perhaps it was because they were merely outsiders at the time. It is far easier to distance oneself from cutting down a nameless interloper than a friendly ally, especially when that interloper bears a remarkable resemblance to the source of so much suffering. Hornet had to admit, she was curious about where the siblings came from. She had little doubt that Ori was a Higher Being, but were such beings commonplace in this forest of theirs? Perhaps some of the so-called gods of Hallownest were from that same forest. It could warrant investigating once the infection was finally dealt with.

Not long ago, Hornet would have pushed aside such an optimistic notion as believing the infection was anything that could be truly dealt with. Hope was another foreign feeling to her. Yet between Ghost and Ori, she was hopeful that something could be done about the infection. A foreign feeling, but not an unpleasant one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry that it took so long for me to post this chapter. It probably won't be this long of a wait until the next chapter, but chances are that future updates are going to be less frequent than before. I've started working my summer job, and between that and college courses, I have less time and energy than I'd like to be able to spend on this fic.
> 
> On a more positive note, I really want to thank everyone who's been here leaving comments and kudos. I'm really glad to know that so many people are enjoying what I'm putting out.


	8. Chapter 8

So, uh  
It's me again  
You're probably wondering where I've been for the past five or so months  
Or maybe not, I don't know

I'm going to be honest here: I've lost a lot of my interest in this fandom. I still love Ori with all my heart, but the games haven't been the first thing on my mind in a long time.

I started writing this fic as a response to Will of the Wisps - specifically, as a response to how the game introduced a potentially fascinating character in Ku and proceeded to do absolutely nothing with her, and how it functionally killed off its main character and seemingly ended the series with no prior indication that it was supposed to be the last chapter. I picked up an idea I'd devised some time ago - the idea that Ori existed in the same world as Hollow Knight - and started outlining a fic exploring that idea, fueled by my frustration with WotW.

But after a while, that fuel ran out. I still don't like the way that WotW handled Ku or how it ended, but I'm not hung up over it anymore. I've moved on to other games and other fandoms, and college has been eating up tons of my free time.

What I'm trying to say is that I probably won't be continuing this fic any further. Now, that being said, I have a few things I can still post. I wrote out a couple of scenes that would've come later on, and I worldbuilt a few crossover connections that I think are pretty dang neat, and sort of retroactively make the way WotW suddenly concluded the series a bit less jarring. If there's interest, I'll post them in one last update.

I'm sorry I couldn't finish this project, but I'm glad some of you stuck around. I hope you all have a wonderful day.  
-Flintlocke


	9. Behind the Scenes

So, I was kinda planning to do something like this when I finished the fic, but... you all saw the last update.

[This is a Google Drive file containing just about everything I wrote up for this fic.](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wV5FmVQxkjFK8JB5ZeKhrIkoybdCfcAb?usp=sharing) That includes scrapped drafts for chapters, my notes and outlines, a few scenes that I planned to add in later, and a couple of memes. I'd recommend setting the order to "Last Modified" in descending order, if the link doesn't have that as the default sort.

This doesn't make up for leaving the fic in an unfinished state, but I hope you can get some enjoyment out of this.

Have a wonderful holiday.  
-Flintlocke


End file.
